The headline in CwoodToday reads, “OPP concludes investigation into JI events; no charges laid.” After ten years, the OPP finally shut down the investigation that actually concluded several years ago. And even then we knew the results: no one under investigation broke any laws. Not even the Municipal Act or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. Ten years during which innocent people were under suspicion, had … (more–>)
A newly-formed group calling itself “Arms Around Collingwood” sent a questionnaire to candidates for this municipal election. And while I have never heard of them, they claim to have “a minimum 2,500 voting contacts in Collingwood.” Below you will read the questions they asked along with my answers. They requested that respondents “limit answers to 50 words or less.” Leadership Do you have any conflicts of … (more–>)
Two more of our local “basket-of-deplorables” incumbent councillors (aka quidnuncs) have filed their papers for re-election: Steve Berman and Kathy “Me! Me! Me!” Jeffrey. So has former councillor Cam “Sleepy” Ecclestone, who announced he was running in the provincial election for the fringe “Consensus Party” then never appeared on the ballot. Readers will recall that both Berman and Jeffrey willingly participated in the bullying of former … (more–>)
Councillor Bob “Lapdog” Madigan — council’s most notable bully and misogynist — filed his papers for deputy mayor, a position for which he is supremely unqualified. Well, to be fair, he’s not really qualified for any council position, is he? In almost eight years in office, Madigan’s accomplishments have been… well, nothing. Aside, that is, from being a misogynist bully; showing disrespect for not only other … (more–>)
Councillors Mariane McLeod and Yvonne Hamlin have both filed their papers to run for the mayor of Collingwood after a mere single term serving in the least effective, most inept council ever, serving as loyal sycophants to the worst and most disliked mayor in the town’s history. What hubris! Aside from their abilities to vote the way Saunderson expected, to express oleaginous praise for him in … (more–>)
As a recent Connection story noted, our acting mayor wept openly when a decision he supported took some community flack. Seriously. He cried at a council meeting. Hardly the sort of behaviour one expects of the man chosen to replace the head of council (our much-disliked mayor who couldn’t wait to get away from his responsibilities). You can watch the entire discussion on video on the … (more–>)
Last week, the chair of our BIA (Business Improvement Area: our association of downtown merchants and businesses) resigned from the organization he has served on for the past seven years. In his letter (quoted in CollingwoodToday) of resignation, David Conning wrote (emphasis added): Following last evening’s council discussion, I continue to have no faith that the town councillors will support any major initiative of the BIA, … (more–>)
The Town of Collingwood’s Facebook page has a post that shows photos of our council members grinning at the camera while holding a piece of paper with a word handwritten above a printed text. I am not aware that this bit of self-promotion has been covered in any local media (but then, so little is, these days).* This paper they are holding comes from a County … (more–>)
You may have learned from our local media that the new water treatment plant costs have doubled to almost $121 million — suggesting massive increases in your water bill and likely your property taxes are coming. The flaccid media coverage of this outrage didn’t explore the consequences of the increase, of course. As the story in CollingwoodToday notes, the egregious increase was sprung at the March … (more–>)
Last night, our council contemptuously appointed a replacement for former councillor Tina Comi, who had been bullied out of office by the Gang of Six of the eight currently at the table. The man they chose was former mayor, Chris Carrier, who also: Is a registered lobbyist in Collingwood for a major property developer and an insurance company (potential conflicts of interest); Donated money to the … (more–>)
Mayor Saunderson and his gang of bullies continue to take flack for their hostile, childish behaviour towards the former Councillor Tina Comi, who resigned her seat late last month. The week after she resigned, the town’s integrity commissioner (IC) revealed a complaint against Comi filled by the Gang of Six because her 11-year-old son entered her room during a council training session that should have been … (more–>)
At Monday night’s council (Jan. 31), there was yet one more example of the misogyny male members of council exhibit towards their female peers. And, as you might have expected, it involved Councillor Madigan, our mayor’s most loyal lapdog supporter who never seems to be called out for his puerile behaviour. You can watch it on the video of the meeting, starting at 01:42:35 or watch … (more–>)
Which of the following words or phrases do you feel best describe Collingwood Council (you may choose more than one): Petty Vindictive Puritanical Hypocritical Vicious Punitive Jealous Envious Mean-spirited Puerile Slavishly loyal to their Great Leader Self-righteous All of the above Imagine this (cue the Twilight Zone soundtrack…): a council member is participating in an in-camera Zoom meeting, this one a training session about the importance … (more–>)
I see from emails he has been sending out that former councillor Cam “Sleepy” Ecclestone has decided to run in the upcoming provincial election as a member of the Consensus Party — an unknown, fringe party that hasn’t got the proverbial snowball’s hope in hell of getting a seat, especially not in this riding. That takes guts. Or maybe utter stu… but you have to admire … (more–>)